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Posted on: 6 March, 2014

Whitsunday region urged to prepare for weekend cyclone

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor and Chair of the Whitsunday Disaster Management GroupJenny Whitney is advising residents and businesses in the region to prepare for a cyclone whichwill potentially affect the region this weekend.

Mayor Whitney said the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is emphasising that modelling for thispotential cyclone remains highly changeable and the system will be much hard to predict.

“However, at this stage modelling is suggesting that the Whitsunday region will be affected onSunday and Monday,” Mayor Whitney said.

“The expected effects could include strong winds, significant rainfall; especially in the Don Riversystem, with the possibility that this system could form into a severe tropical cyclone.

“Now is the time for residents to begin their preparation, rather than leave it to the last minute.

“Being prepared early is essential and the first step to being prepared for cyclones is to look nofurther than your own backyard, by cleaning up potential flying debris.

“It is also worth checking that your Emergency Kit is stocked up and complete.

“While the high tides expected for Sunday and Monday are much lower than during Cyclone Dylan, some storm surge may still be experienced, depending on the final location, intensity and time of crossing of the cyclone.

“Now is also the time to check whether you live in a storm tide inundation zone, on the Councilwebsite or Facebook page, do not leave it to the last minute when evacuation notices for different zones may have been issued.

“Residents living in the low lying coastal areas of the Whitsundays are urged to call on their friends or family members who live in safer high places for shelter, in case they need to evacuate.

“People are also urged to think now about what their pet or animal evacuation plan will be.

“Residents who are new to town are encouraged to talk to their neighbours about how best toprepare for a cyclone event,” she said.

Emergency Action Guides (EAG) are available on Council’s website, or in our customer servicecentres, the storm tide inundation mapping zones shown in the EAG are an indication only forstorm tides.

To view full-scale mapping, residents are urged to visit Council’s Customer Service Centres andLibraries across the region or visit Council’s website www.whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au under the‘Disaster’ tab.

To keep up to date with information relating to current disaster events, residents are encouraged to ‘Like’ the Whitsunday Disaster and Emergency Information Facebook page, which will provide a direct link to information from the Whitsunday Disaster Management Group.